You must be logged in to access this feature.

Want to take the easy path to professorship? In 2013, an email offered to sell co-authorship on a paper that it said had already been accepted by the International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology for the low, low price of $14,800. On its way to press, the authorship of the paper swelled first by four authors and later settled on two first authors, but was accepted for publication anyway, at least until the scam was exposed by the Science reporters who uncovered it. As an advertisement by the sellers stated, “The heavy labor can be left to us. Our service can help you make progress in your academic path!”1